Honeymoon in Vegas
Honeymoon in Vegas is a 1992 comedy film directed by Andrew Bergman and starring James Caan, Nicolas Cage, and Sarah Jessica Parker. Plot Private eye Jack Singer (Cage) has sworn to his mother while she was on her deathbed that he would never get married. Years later, he goes back on his promise and proposes to his girlfriend, Betsy (Parker), and quickly arranges a Las Vegas marriage. They check into the Bally's Hotel. Before the wedding, however, a wealthy professional gambler, Tommy Korman (Caan), sees Betsy and notices a striking resemblance to his beloved late wife. He arranges a crooked poker game (with Jerry Tarkanian as one of the other players) where Jack borrows $65,000 after being dealt a straight flush (7-8-9-10-Jack of clubs), only to lose to the gambler's higher straight flush (8-9-10-Jack-Queen of hearts); Tommy, however, promises to erase the debt - if he can spend the weekend with Betsy. After getting Tommy to agree to no sex, the desperate couple agrees. Jack tries desperately to get Betsy back and discovers that Tommy has taken her to Hawaii, where he has a vacation home. The gambler also has a taxi driver friend, Mahi Mahi (Pat Morita), and asks him to keep Jack as far as possible from him and Betsy. Jack discovers this, steals the taxi, and sees Betsy outside the Kauai Club, where he's attacked by Tommy and arrested. After Dr. Molar bails Jack out of jail, Mahi Mahi meets him outside and admits that Tommy left for Vegas with Betsy and has convinced her to marry him. Mahi races Jack to the airport. Betsy decides she cannot go through with the wedding and escapes from Tommy. Meanwhile, after changing many planes and finding himself stuck in San Jose, Jack tries frantically to find a flight to Vegas. Finally, he finds a group about to depart for Vegas, but, much to his surprise, finds out mid-flight that they are the Utah chapter of the "Flying Elvises" - a skydiving team of Elvis impersonators. Jack now realizes that he will have to skydive from 3,000 feet in order to get to Betsy. Jack eventually is able to overcome his fear and lands and spots Betsy, which then ruins Tommy's plans. The final scene shows Jack and Betsy getting married in a small Las Vegas chapel with the Flying Elvises as guests, Jack still in his white illuminated jumpsuit and Betsy in her stolen showgirl outfit. Cast *James Caan as Tommy Korman *Nicolas Cage as Jack Singer *Sarah Jessica Parker as Betsy Nolan/Donna Korman *Peter Boyle as Chief Orman *Seymour Cassel as Tony Cataracts *Pat Morita as Mahi Mahi *Johnny Williams as Johnny Sandwich *John Capodice as Sally Molars *Bruno Mars (credited as Bruno Hernandez) as Little Elvis *Robert Costanzo as Sidney Tomashefsky *Anne Bancroft as Bea Singer *Tony Shalhoub as Buddy Walker *Burton Gilliam as Roy Bacon *Clearance Giddens as Black Elvis *Ben Stein as Walter Voices *Tom Hulce as Von, 20 year-old robot. *Jim Cummings as King Mongot, a ruler of Burma. Production "It wasn’t based on anything," said Bergman. "I wanted to do a boy-girl story, and in my perverse fashion, it turned out to be this." [1] Reception The film earned mixed to positive reviews from critics, and currently holds a 61% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 31 reviews. Awards and nominations ;50th Golden Globe Awards *Nominated: Best Picture - Musical or Comedy *Nominated: Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy: Nicolas Cage Soundtrack The soundtrack was composed mainly of covers of Elvis Presley songs performed by country and pop/rock artists. Also included are the ramblings of Chief Orman when Mahi Mahi takes Jack to his Chief's shack instead of Korman's beach side mansion. The score is by David Newman. Track listing (movie) #"Viva Las Vegas" - Bruce Springsteen #"Hound Dog" - (score) - Jeff Beck and Jed Leiber #"Are You Lonesome Tonight?" - Bryan Ferry #"Heartbreak Hotel" - Billy Joel #"Jailhouse Rock" - John Mellencamp #"Suspicious Minds" - Dwight Yoakam #"Burning Love" - Travis Tritt #"That's All Right" - Vince Gill #"Love Me Tender" - Amy Grant #"All Shook Up" - Billy Joel #"Blue Hawaii" - Willie Nelson #"(You're the) Devil in Disguise" - Trisha Yearwood #"Wear My Ring Around Your Neck" - Ricky Van Shelton #"Surrender" - Elvis Presley #"Jailhouse Rock" - Elvis Presley #"That's All Right" - Elvis Presley #"Can't Help Falling in Love" - Bono #"It's Now or Never" - Elvis Presley #"Can't Help Falling in Love" - (score) #"La Donna è Mobile" - Franco Bonisolli #"Hawaii Kua Uli" - (score) #"Happy Talk" - Peter Boyle #"Hilo March" - (score) #"(Let Me) Be Your Teddy Bear - (score) #"Ka Lae O Makahonu" - (score) #"Waikiki Beach" - (score) #"Bali Hai" - Peter Boyle Track listing (available on CD) #"All Shook Up" - Billy Joel #"Wear My Ring Around Your Neck" - Ricky Van Shelton #"Love Me Tender" - Amy Grant #"Burning Love" - Travis Tritt #"Heartbreak Hotel" - Billy Joel #"Are You Lonesome Tonight?" - Bryan Ferry #"Suspicious Minds" - Dwight Yoakam #"(You're The) Devil In Disguise" - Trisha Yearwood #"Hound Dog" - Jeff Beck and Jed Leiber #"That's All Right" - Vince Gill #"Jail House Rock" - John Mellencamp #"Blue Hawaii" - Willie Nelson #"Can't Help Falling In Love" - Bono Chart performance Stage version Bergman says when he finished the film he thought it might make a good musical. He was distracted making movies but then had open heart surgery in 2001. "When you have open-heart surgery, you say, what do I really want to do? What haven’t I done? I thought it’d be great to do a musical."[1] Jason Robert Brown, a composer, had always wanted to do Honeymoon as a musical and wrote some songs on spec. He and Bergman agreed to collaborate. "We certainly were looking to do a real book musical that isn’t really done much anymore," said Bergman. We wanted the sound to be of the ‘60s and ‘70s—not that it’s a throwback, but we wanted that sound. We wanted to be a brassy, come and love us kind of show."[1] A big change from the movie was the character of the mother was kept alive. "Having her recur is a great thing for the show," said Bergman. "It keeps her spirit alive and it keeps his mishigas alive. That was a real change.”[1] A musical stage version of the movie was written by Jason Robert Brown (music and lyrics) and Andrew Bergman (book). A Broadway-bound production was expected to debut in Toronto in November 2012, starring Tony Danza as Tommy Korman.[2] However, the Toronto premiere was canceled,[3] and production was transferred to the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey instead with Danza remaining. The Paper Mill production opened on September 26, 2013 and ran through October 27. [4] The musical began previews on Broadway at the Nederlander Theatre on November 18, 2014, and opened officially on January 15, 2015. Direction is by Gary Griffin with choreography by Denis Jones. The cast features Tony Danza, Rob McClure and Brynn O'Malley, who were also in the Paper Mill production.[5]